I had big expectations for this album before the release but I must say I was a bit disappointed. After the 10 given by a famous musical entity I was expecting a mindblowing skull-crushing comeback album. Machine Head have been through a lot this last couple of years and most of that due to lack of direction in their musical style.

When a band reaches the peak of their career, one of two options present themselves. They can either continue on the path of their career-peaking work, or try something new, in a different direction. In the latter case, more often than not, a shift in direction doesn't work out as well as the band planned. After Coma Of Souls, Kreator embarked on an experimentation with a more industrial sound, to a not-too-enthusiastic response from their fanbase. The same cases can be seen with Megadeth after Rust In Peace, Metallica after And Justice For All, and so on. The Blackening was (arguably) the peak album of Machine Head's career, and on the follow up, 2011's Unto The Locust, the band went with the second option: a change in sound. And while I wasn't expecting The Blackening, Volume 2, I must say that said sound change comes as a bit of a disappointment.

Machine Head, the current band of former Vio-lence and Forbidden guitarist Robb Flynn, need no real introduction to most fans of thrash metal. Yet it is amazing how many people seem prepared to assume that all they've released that is worth listening to is Burn My Eyes/i] and/or The Blackening. I feel pretty differently: I honestly find Burn My Eyes unimpressive (admittedly, that may be due to me not being a fan of groove metal) and found The Blackening overly long, suffering from the usual problems I have with progressive music (namely, a fondness of writing unnecessarily long music that seems more intended to show off the musicians' skills rather than write something that an audience can enjoy listening to). I do not deny that they are good albums, merely that I do not agree when people refer to them as Machine Head's best albums. By contrast, I consider Unto The Locust to be their best album and one of the best albums of 2011: high praise indeed, considering it was an impulse buy for me for a band I'd never heard of.

The songs are still too long at times, but the irressistible enegry that squirts from every note of this album is truly overwhelming. Machine Head have just released what could possibly be their best album since the classic Burn My Eyes.

I'm scared...really...hope Machine Head doesn't sold out like many bands are doing right now! I hope really that they can do a follow up to The Blackening album...really hope so...but still remains the fear and i don't know why!!!

Listening to this, it sounds as if MH have tried to make an album of stadium singalong anthems... lol The raw rage of the early MH is almost completely abscent on the album, as it sounds mostly like a mixture of Gothenburg styled melodic death, and some metalcore. I'll listen to the album some more before giving a final verdict/rating, but on first impressions, it sounds like MH have sacrificed a lot of their fire for a far more melodic approach. Which being the case on every song, (as well as some of the melodies themselves sounding similar to each other) has the effect of making the album sound like MH-Lite... And the children's choir on "Who We Are" is truly cringeworthy. *shakes head*

Maybe repeated plays will yield more rewards, but I feel pretty confident to say right now, that the album is definitely weaker than "The Blackening" (And TTAOE too, not to mention the classic first 2 albums). Having only 7 tracks doesn't really help it's cause either. "Locust" is an amazing song though! xD

I don't know what's in everyone's head! ...i mean...of course Unto The Locust isn't "doubtly" The Blackening....what i'm trying to reach is that...everyone is expecting something better than Blackening but that's not gonna happen' ...so those guys who have expected that, are gonna ignore this one because Unto The Locust isn't The Blackening! I hate that! ...fuck, thats music, and this album is a living proof of what this guys can really do!

I don't know what's in everyone's head! ...i mean...of course Unto The Locust isn't "doubtly" The Blackening....what i'm trying to reach is that...everyone is expecting something better than Blackening but that's not gonna happen' ...so those guys who have expected that, are gonna ignore this one because Unto The Locust isn't The Blackening! I hate that! ...fuck, thats music, and this album is a living proof of what this guys can really do!

My issue with "Unto The Locust" isn't that it's different from "The Blackening", it's that the melodies on the album are all really similar to each other... (aside from the ones in "Locust") and the fact that they now sound like followers rather than leaders, by incorporating so many US metalcore influences into their sound. The musicianship and talent displayed on the album is undeniable, I just wish they hadn't sacrificed so much of their identity in their attempts to progress their music.

What made "The Blackening" such a joy was that they progressed whilst still keeping their identity. I've still only listened to the full album once, so maybe I haven't given it a proper chance, but I'd be lying if I said I'm not disappointed by it after the last album was so great. After the first listen, I thought "I Am Hell" was good, and "Locust" itself is a brilliant song, and definitely the stand out track on the album. I will give it a couple more listens before giving a final verdict, but I very much doubt that my intital opinion that it's a step down from "The Blackening" will change. The first 2 albums and "The Blackening" are still the best MH albums. I probably do prefer the new one over "Supercharger" though!

Excellent album.
First listen I was also a bit worried about the 'anthem songs' feel about it, especially because the last song on the album and therefore the one that stuck in my head is "Who We Are".
...But besides that, the rest is pretty killer. Notably the first song, "I Am Hell" and of course "The Locust".
It did seem kinda short though. I guess in comparison to The Blackening. Another song or two would have been nice.

I am no musician so normally I dont pay attention to this kind of details but one thing i noticed is that the riff from "Pearls Before the Swine" is the watered down version of At The Gates' Blinded by Fear.

Excellent album.
First listen I was also a bit worried about the 'anthem songs' feel about it, especially because the last song on the album and therefore the one that stuck in my head is "Who We Are".
...But besides that, the rest is pretty killer. Notably the first song, "I Am Hell" and of course "The Locust".
It did seem kinda short though. I guess in comparison to The Blackening. Another song or two would have been nice.

Well, I am going to give it another go, see if I feel any different about it after a second listen. Yep, only seven songs on the album does hurt it, especially when there's so many similarities between most of the tracks. Also, it's been 4 and a half years since "The Blackening", so for them to only have 7 new songs after all that time is disappointing.

It also doesn't help that the two bonus tracks (which are covers) are superior to most of the actual album... It's actually hard to imagine it's Robb actually singing those songs, cos his voice sounds so different! lol The cover of "The Sentinel" is awesome, although Id have preffered it if Robb had used his harsher vocals more in the song. xD The cover of "Witch Hunt" obviously suffers without the unique vocals and bass playing, but it was a brave choice for them to tackle a Rush song, and they did a decent job of it.

I've given the album another listen this time through headphones, and although maybe I was a bit overly harsh on the album when I first heard it, I still think it's a weak album compared to their best stuff. My overall thoughts are this:

High points: "I Am Hell", "Locust", and "Darkness Within" are very good songs.

The album mix is great! Adam Duce's bass is upfront in the mix without dominating, which definitely enhances the material.

The musicianship is impeccable, with fantastic guitar work, and an astounding performance by Dave McClain on drums.

Both of the cover versions are excellent, especially "The Sentinel". Rob and the boys would be proud! The acoustic version of "Darkness Within" is also great, maybe even better than the actual version.

Low points: "I Am Hell" could have been a truly classic song, but the mid section solo is far too short, which dilutes the impact that part of the song could have had. Also, the outro is screaming out for a classic guitar solo to be played over it, and for it to have a proper ending. The repeating guitar lead and fade out really fails to do the great rhythm part in the outro justice. While the song is good, it feels like a missed opportunity to make a truly amazing song, which it had the potential to be.

"Pearls Before Swine" features a riff that sounds very similar to the main melody in "Darkness Within". This is highlighted all the more by the two tracks being placed beside each other in the tracklisting. It also dilutes the impact of "Darkness Within" on the album, which is actually a great song. Pearls... is definitely a filler, and a filler on an album featuring 7 songs, well... lol

The children's "choir" in "Who We Are" sounds absolutely awful, and doesn't fit the song at all. This song is overall pretty great, but those annoying children's vocals brings it down a lot.

7 songs, with a lot of similar sounding melodies on the album. Had the album had another 3 songs, which were less melodic, would have made the album more well-rounded and complete. It would also have lessened the effect of the negative points of the album.

Overall, I'm still quite disappointed with the album, and while I think media wise it will probably get as much or even more praise than "The Blackening", imo, it definitely doesn't deserve it. There is some decent, even great moments, but they are few and far between, and on an album with only 7 songs, that's a huge black spot on the album. The album is not in the same league as BME, TMTC, or "The Blackening", nor does it dislodge "Supercharger" as the weakest MH album. So it's not one of MH's more notable albums, that's for sure... *shrugs*

Better that the Blackening for sure since it is a lot more focussed. Problem reamins that their songs are still way too long. had they trimmed them of all the fat this one could have come close to the first two of theirs.

Written by Bigpaul on 23.09.2011 at 23:16I wonder did they spend all of The Blackening tour listening to At The gates and Thin Lizzy on the tour bus?

Yep, one of the first thoughts I had when listening to the album, was that Jesper Stromblad had been spending his time since quitting In Flames, writing some riffs for Machine Head... There is a very strong Gothenburg infleunce on the album, that much is undeniable. The occasions on the album where it mixes well with the more bludgeoning classic MH style, it pays off in spades. The trouble is, it doesn't happen often enough on the album for it to build any real momentum.

But there is definitely signs that if they keep this style for the next album, and iron out the niggling flaws, then they could produce something really great with this new sound they're producing.

As for how I'll end up rating the album, I'm still not sure... probably somewhere between 7 and 8. It's definitely above average, but doesn't quite achieve the greatness that it could have had with the potential shown in a few of it's tracks.

Probably the worst album I've heard all year. The middle and end of the album just consists of cringe-worthy drivel while the first half shows potential but ultimately proves to be simple generic thrash.

Written by Malevolent-Jim on 27.09.2011 at 18:28Probably the worst album I've heard all year.

I was kind of looking forward to hearing this soon...hopefully it isn't as bad for me as it was for you. Did you like their last album?

The Blackening? Yeah I really liked it! It was a perfectly solid album but I just wasn't feeling this one at all. I would hardly think it's album of the decade though, as a lot of people seem to think but The Blackening was good. This is a bit different and I thought the first song had some cool parts but..for me, it slowly turned into crap. Maybe you'll like it more, but it left me cold.

Written by Malevolent-Jim on 27.09.2011 at 18:50I would hardly think it's album of the decade though, as a lot of people seem to think but The Blackening was good.

Don't even get me started on how overrated that album was when it was first released. But I agree that it's a good album, it's just a shame that they might not have continued in a good direction with UtL.

I think this is my least favorite Machine Head album. The first three songs + Pearls Before The Swine
+ Judas Priest cover are very good songs IMO.

The children's choir is horrible.

Least favorite, really? I'd probably still go with "Supercharger" as my least favorite.... that one only has about 4 songs out of 13 (Im not counting the intro!) that I like. I know a lot of people bash "The Burning Red", but I like quite it a lot. As Robb Flynn himself has said, "if all people got from that album was rap metal, then they didn't listen to it"

As for how I'd place this album amongst their others... I'd definitely put BME, TMTC, and "The Blackening" above it. And maybe TTAOE as well. And yep, the children's choir is really terrible. "Who We Are" I think could have been a great song if not for that... it defintely brings the song down a lot for me.

Least favorite, really? I'd probably still go with "Supercharger" as my least favorite.... that one only has about 4 songs out of 13 (Im not counting the intro!) that I like. I know a lot of people bash "The Burning Red", but I like quite it a lot. As Robb Flynn himself has said, "if all people got from that album was rap metal, then they didn't listen to it"

As for how I'd place this album amongst their others... I'd definitely put BME, TMTC, and "The Blackening" above it. And maybe TTAOE as well. And yep, the children's choir is really terrible. "Who We Are" I think could have been a great song if not for that... it defintely brings the song down a lot for me.

Well I really like "The Burning Red" I gave it a 9, as for "Supercharger" I can understand why people hates it, but I kinda really enjoyed it when I was 17 lol, but UTL is kinda a disappointment for me, you know 4 years after The Blackening, I'm not saying it's a bad album, it's just good.

Written by Kass on 28.09.2011 at 17:46Well I really like "The Burning Red" I gave it a 9, as for "Supercharger" I can understand why people hates it, but I kinda really enjoyed it when I was 17 lol, but UTL is kinda a disappointment for me, you know 4 years after The Blackening, I'm not saying it's a bad album, it's just good.

EDIT:
What's your rating btw?

I really like it too. There's a couple of not so good songs on it, but overall, I think it's great! I don't hate "Supercharger", I just think there are an awful lot of average songs on it. There's a small amount of songs on it that I love like "Deafening Silence" and "Bulldozer", but as a whole, there's not much on there that's memorable to me... And yup, I totally agree with you about UTL being a disappointment, especially since it's been nearly 4 years since "The Blackening". It's definitely not a bad album, but it's not a classic either. If some niggling flaws were ironed out, and another 2 or 3 songs had been on the album... then it could possibly have been a classic. Ah well.. *shrugs*

My rating? That's a tricky one, but I think I'd give it an 8. It's certainly an above average album with some genuinely great moments on it. However, I feel the album never really gains any true momentum, which it threatens to do on more than one ocassion. Most of the songs come off as having the potential to be great, rather than actually being great. ("I Am Hell" being the most obvious example of this, as it really could have been a classic song, but doesn't quite manage to be one.) So above average, but still, a let-down for me.

I Am Hell (9)
Be Still And Know (9)
Locust (9)
This Is The End (7)
Darkness Within (4)
Pearls Before The Swine (8)
Who We Are (5)
The Sentinel (7)
Witch Hunt (6)
Darkness Within (4)

Nicely done!

I think this is how I'd rate every song:

I Am Hell (9) - Would have been a 10 with a longer solo and better use of the outro
Be Still And Know (7) - Nice enough song, with a decent chorus, but the awesome thrash break mid-song seems a bit out of place. As a whole, this song merely simmers, and never really captivates or explodes.
Locust (10) - Probably the best song on the album. Amazing buildup in the intro, and the whole song is a perfect blend of punishing old school MH riffs and more modern melodies. The crushing breakdown at the end is pure classic MH, harking back to "Davidian" and ensures this song to be one of my all time faves by the band. xD
This Is The End (9) - Sounds like a blend of Gothenburg melodies welded to a scathing thrash riff. Which mostly works to devestating effect. The solos in this song are simply stunning, and are the best ones on the album. If part of the mid section didnt sound a bit out of place, and the vocals had fitted better in the chorus, this would have been a 10.
Darkness Within (10) - A melancholic epic with skyscraper sized melodies that once I heard them embedded themselves in my head and wouldn't leave! Sounds like a more energetic relative of previous emotional MH classics "The Burning Red" and "Deafening Silence".
Pearls Before The Swine (7) - Starts of well, but after that it sounds a bit messy and disorganised. It's not arranged very well. The fact it also contains a riff startlingly similar to the previous song doesn't help it. There's some goodness in this song, but it feels like it's missing that little extra something that could elevate into something great.
Who We Are (7) - The horrendous (and very out of place) children's choir is definitely the low point of this song. Elsewhere, the song contains some great moments, (the solos are awesome!) but it fails to ignite into something truly great. Even without the prescence of the children's choir...

I Am Hell (9)
Be Still And Know (9)
Locust (9)
This Is The End (7)
Darkness Within (4)
Pearls Before The Swine (8)
Who We Are (5)
The Sentinel (7)
Witch Hunt (6)
Darkness Within (4)

Nicely done!

I think this is how I'd rate every song:

I Am Hell (9) - Would have been a 10 with a longer solo and better use of the outro
Be Still And Know (7) - Nice enough song, with a decent chorus, but the awesome thrash break mid-song seems a bit out of place. As a whole, this song merely simmers, and never really captivates or explodes.
Locust (10) - Probably the best song on the album. Amazing buildup in the intro, and the whole song is a perfect blend of punishing old school MH riffs and more modern melodies. The crushing breakdown at the end is pure classic MH, harking back to "Davidian" and ensures this song to be one of my all time faves by the band. xD
This Is The End (9) - Sounds like a blend of Gothenburg melodies welded to a scathing thrash riff. Which mostly works to devestating effect. The solos in this song are simply stunning, and are the best ones on the album. If part of the mid section didnt sound a bit out of place, and the vocals had fitted better in the chorus, this would have been a 10.
Darkness Within (10) - A melancholic epic with skyscraper sized melodies that once I heard them embedded themselves in my head and wouldn't leave! Sounds like a more energetic relative of previous emotional MH classics "The Burning Red" and "Deafening Silence".
Pearls Before The Swine (7) - Starts of well, but after that it sounds a bit messy and disorganised. It's not arranged very well. The fact it also contains a riff startlingly similar to the previous song doesn't help it. There's some goodness in this song, but it feels like it's missing that little extra something that could elevate into something great.
Who We Are (7) - The horrendous (and very out of place) children's choir is definitely the low point of this song. Elsewhere, the song contains some great moments, (the solos are awesome!) but it fails to ignite into something truly great. Even without the prescence of the children's choir...

I think going by this, I think 8 probably is the right score... hehe

I'm sorry, but I can't help but notice... you're going to give an album you called "decent" an 8/10. I give some Opeth albums I think are really good 8/10. I think a "decent" album is worth a 6 or 7 (but maybe that's just me). Sorry for being a ratings whore, just an observation.

Written by Soulhole on 30.09.2011 at 02:32I'm sorry, but I can't help but notice... you're going to give an album you called "decent" an 8/10. I give some Opeth albums I think are really good 8/10. I think a "decent" album is worth a 6 or 7 (but maybe that's just me). Sorry for being a ratings whore, just an observation.

*sighs* It's okay... lol

This is personally, how I rate albums: Anything between 0-5 is a bad album. It's just a scale of how bad the album is. 0 being one of the most abysmal, most atrocious things you've ever heard, while 5 is a poor album, slightly below average, but it's not really going to be in any "worst albums of all time" lists. 6-7 Are scales of averageness. 8 (which is what I gave "Unto The Locust") is a good album, maybe ocassionally even showing signs of greatness, but contains some flaws/fillers that bring the album down, and stop it from being a truly great album. 9 is a great album, and 10 is an album without even the tiniest of flaws, a truly amazing album that I'd class as a classic. xD

I hope this has been able to shed more light on my decision to give UTL an 8. hehe

Written by Soulhole on 30.09.2011 at 02:32I'm sorry, but I can't help but notice... you're going to give an album you called "decent" an 8/10. I give some Opeth albums I think are really good 8/10. I think a "decent" album is worth a 6 or 7 (but maybe that's just me). Sorry for being a ratings whore, just an observation.

*sighs* It's okay... lol

This is personally, how I rate albums: Anything between 0-5 is a bad album. It's just a scale of how bad the album is. 0 being one of the most abysmal, most atrocious things you've ever heard, while 5 is a poor album, slightly below average, but it's not really going to be in any "worst albums of all time" lists. 6-7 Are scales of averageness. 8 (which is what I gave "Unto The Locust") is a good album, maybe ocassionally even showing signs of greatness, but contains some flaws/fillers that bring the album down, and stop it from being a truly great album. 9 is a great album, and 10 is an album without even the tiniest of flaws, a truly amazing album that I'd class as a classic. xD

I hope this has been able to shed more light on my decision to give UTL an 8. hehe

I see, i guess I just perceive decent as being average, a 6-7 but to each their own.

Wow, not a lot of love for the children's choir here (ahem). I like it, took a bit of getting used too admittedly, but I think it has this kinda haunting yet glorious vibe to it that fits with the overall sound of the album. I've listed to Unto the Locust through to almost double figures now and whilst I initially only thought it was just a good album, now I think it definitely holds up well to The Blackening, maybe even surpassing it. There are moments that could be better but there are many more utterly blistering sections that make me feel the way this sort of Metal should. It has a lot of anthem-like songs, which for me is great, and when listening to them I can't help wonder and build excitement to how great they'll sound in a live environment (seeing them at Wembley Arena in December). There are parts of some songs like Be Still and Know, This is the End and Pearls Before the Swine that make them kind of drag and IMO this unnecessary fat could of been trimmed for a couple or so more songs. Thats my only real off point with this album. The bonus tracks aren't too shabby at all either, loving The Sentinel which is one of my all time favorite Judas Priest songs.

Favorite songs so far are: I am Hell (Sonata in C#), Locust, Darkness Within and Who We Are (Holy fuck!, is that Crowbars Kirk Windstein making a guest appearance or just damn uncanny backing vocals!? haha )

Current overall rating: Don't think I can really give it a full 8, but it certainly isn't a 7, so 7.5 it may have to be.